DemocracyDigestOctober 18,2004

Growing Momentum for Reform in Middle East
Whisper it quietly to the pessimists and Washington's newly assertive neo-realists, but what seemed to be a disappointingly modest democracy initiative emerging from last June's G-8 Sea Island summit is gaining real traction. The positive response of reformers in the Middle East itself is generating growing momentum despite the overt hostility of many Arab regimes and a more nuanced diplomatic skepticism from some in foreign policy elites who combined to dilute the original Greater Middle East Initiative.

An eloquent statement by a group of reform leaders from civil society in Middle Eastern and Muslim countries who met recently in Beruit under the auspices of the G-8's Forum for the Future contains a forthright repudiation of the so-called "realists" and their hesitation about change in the region. The statement declares that "our societies also suffer from international real-politik, which sacrifices principles in support of a status quo and the entrenched interests which this status quo protects."

The Beruit statement (a full text apears in "Documents" below) also notes that "warning against the threats of chaos that might result from reforming the region ignores the fact that anarchy has already mushroomed in some of the states of the region."

To their credit, foreign ministers and representatives of 24 G-8 and Arab governments who met on the fringe of the recent UN General Assembly committed themselves to participate in the first "Forum for the Future" to include Arab and G-8 ministers that will convene in December in Morocco This meeting will discuss options for political and economic liberalization in the broader Middle East. Yemen has taken the lead, alongside Turkey and Italy, in organizing the Democracy Assistance Dialogue, another result of the G-8 summit, designed to promote the sharing of experience and best practices in democracy promotion across the region. The inaugural meeting of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue takes place in Rome in November. Even Egypt, whose President, Hosni Mubarak, was among the most vociferous critics of the original Greater Middle East Initiative as alien interference in Arab affairs, has offered to host a meeting of G-8 and Arab League foreign ministers in January, 2005.

Officially, the Forum for the Future is designed to root “shared reform efforts in an open and enduring dialogue that responds to the needs of the region while respecting the unique character of each country.” Foreign, economic, and other ministers are to meet regularly to discuss and promote democratic, economic, and educational reforms. What US Secretary of State Colin Powell has described as “a growing momentum for reform” is largely attributable to the alacrity with which the region's democrats, civil society activists and other reformers have responded to the agenda and opening of political space resulting from the post-Sea Island initiatives. As one commentator notes, "just as the Cold War-era Helsinki process encouraged independent democracy and human rights groups to spring up under the cover of intergovernmental talks, the Forum for the Future has given Arab democrats a crucial opportunity.”

Recent reform statements by groups of civil society representatives from the region, including those that met in Sanaa, Aqaba, Istanbul, Alexandria, and – most recently – Beirut, attest to a high level of activity, debate, and expectations. Under the rubric of the "civil society dialogue" explicitly built into the Forum for the Future, over 40 activists from across the Middle East -- and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey -- met in Beirut in September. The resulting Beirut declaration, presented to the G-8 and Arab foreign ministers' meeting at the UN Assembly in New York, proposes "three imperatives" for reform -- freedom, democracy and justice. It also proposes "seven programs" for realizing these imperatives that aim to foster equality, the rule of law, freedom of expression and organization, inquisitive education, economic inclusion, transparency, and freedom of creative artistic and literary expression.

Far from opposing outside or Western intervention in the broader Middle East, civil society activists welcomed and expressed appreciation for G-8 engagement, recognizing that “international initiatives for reform are important” when most of the region's governments “turn a deaf ear to internal calls for reforms.” Proposing “an open, committed partnership between democrats in our region and like-minded citizens in the international community,” the Beirut declaration notes that “while the participation of concerned governments in the region would be welcome, we cannot wait.”

"[A] voice is beginning to emerge that wasn't there before,"says Carl Gershman, President of the US-based National Endowment for Democracy, who attended the New York meeting of G-8 and Middle Eastern civil society groups. "Most of these people are unknown, they are faceless, but there are a surprising number of them, and the number is growing," he says. "They see that they have an opening, and they want to take advantage of it."

Democratic and liberal forces are by no means in the ascendancy across the Middle East. Autocracy and authoritarianism are the prevailing regimes. In most cases, the likely short-term alternatives to these regimes are opposition groups with at best dubious democratic credentials. Democracy supporters need to show prudence and responsibility towards prospects for genuine reform. But should these virtues be allowed to curdle into diffidence or cynicism, opportunities will surely be missed.

Democracy Promotion: EU-US Variations on a Theme
Democracy promotion has never been a top foreign policy priority for the United States or European Union, but there is considerable scope for enhancing EU-US interaction in the field, according to a recent meeting of experts. Leading scholars and practitioners from both the US and Europe met for far-reaching discussion about the transatlantic dimensions of democratisation on October 4th and 5th at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

Signs of ferment within the societies and cultures of the broader Middle East have imparted new vigour to such discussions within the transatlantic community about what can and should be done to assist democrats in that region and elsewhere. While the US has been engaged in democracy promotion since 1945, the EU's engagement in the field is a recent post-Cold War phenomenon, the conference heard.

But differing transatlantic concepts and instruments of democracy promotion between the EU and US are due less to historical factors than to varying geo-strategic needs, capacities and perceptions of threat, seminar participants suggested. "The EU's military weakness and the pressing need to engage its troubled periphery have prompted the EU to develop a common approach or orientation based on concepts and instruments nurtured through EU enlargement," says Amichai Magen, a CDDRL Fellow who with Yitzhak Rabin, a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford Law School, initiatied and organized the workshop. The EU makes extensive use of positive “democratic conditionality” through two main rewards to non-members: institutional ties (the strongest of which is the promise of full membership); and financial and technical assistance to ease transition to market economies, enhance administrative capacity and facilitate subscription to liberal norms.

Stanford conference participants discussed variations of US-EU interaction in the field. Firstly, greater “co-ordination” of US and EU institutional and delivery capabilities would help avoid divisive tactics used by countries such as Cuba, Russia and many Arab regimes that are eager to minimize external democratising influences. A second school of thought prefers “collaboration” to a tight co-ordination of policies they consider unrealistic, undesirable, or both. Collaboration generates greater participation by non-state actors that are better positioned to engage than national or international bureaucracies. Thirdly, “co-operation” can also involve flexible case-by-case interaction, avoiding overt or institutional EU-US association.

The wide-ranging reforms (from economic liberalization to human rights' compliance) required for countries even to be considered for EU membership have provided a compelling imperative for democratisation along the EU's volatile periphery. In this respect, the conference heard, the EU has become a “democratic hub” or “gravity” model using normative pressures, trade, aid, democratic conditionality and socialization mechanisms to promote reforms. The EU has been less willing to use negative measures – i.e. withdrawal of aid and sanctions. Until political criteria governing eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Account were established, the US traditionally did not use ex ante conditionality.

By contrast, expert American commentators at Stanford could not define a similarly coherent “American strategy.” US democracy promotion activities were described as more fragmented, sporadic and heterogeneous, partly reflecting the diversity of agencies involved. They also tend to be more narrowly defined (on elections, institutions, civil society) compared with the EU's more holistic, consistent and long-term strategy of building long-term relationships and generating gradual, controlled change through “managed-compliance.” Nevertheless, participants considered joint strategies for advancing mutually reinforcing changes to be a potentially rich area for exploration.

Participants identified four distinct regime types that present different challenges for the US and EU. In both “opening regimes” and “hybrid-regimes,” a major challenge is one of consolidation and preventing backsliding and the entrenchment of illiberal democracy. Conditionality and aid have been effective in such cases, as in most of post-communist central and eastern Europe. But they have been less successful in a second regime type: those states and international protectorates characterized by weak institutions and administrative capacities, as in Serbia (including Kosovo), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and Romania, where ruling elites are attracted by external incentives but lack the judicial and administrative capacity to effectively implement reform.

China is probably the most important current example of a fourth regime type -- a “pre-transition” non-democratic country. But in geo-political terms the North African and eastern Mediterranean countries are a critical cluster, given the combination of strong US interests and European engagement through the Barcelona Process and European Neighbourhood Policy. Finally, a “hard core” of states, including Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, pose particularly complex and divisive challenges for the EU and US. Some European participants suggested that EU leverage in such societies requires distancing itself from a US that has become “radioactive,” especially in the Middle East. Others suggested that long before either the Iraq war or the Bush Administration, the EU, and especially France, already sought to define themselves in opposition to the US.

Participants agreed that both the US and EU need to review, reconsider and perhaps redesign their own institutional instruments and procedures for democracy promotion. A project that identifies specific places or themes for cooperation, as well as places where the EU and US should avoid open competition, would clearly be of interest and use to democracy promoters on both sides of the Atlantic.

EU to Produce Plan for Palestinian State – But Do Palestinians Want It?
The European Union will shortly unveil a plan to ensure the viability of a Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, it is reported in Brussels. Frustrated with what they see as US diplomatic inertia resulting from domestic political imperatives, EU politicians are pushing to accelerate the EU's engagement in the region. A detailed plan is expected shortly from external affairs commissioner Javier Solana for advancing the Road Map drawn up by the Quartet of the EU, US, UN and Russia. Solana's paper is expected to focus on security, economic development and reform, and to emphasize the need for free and fair elections.

But a recent article by Michael Tarazi, the PLO's legal adviser, which explicitly rejects a two-states solution, suggests that the EU initiative is running against the grain of current Palestinian strategy. In what Middle East expert Barry Rubin describes as “a policy statement of prime importance,” Tarazi argues that “the quest for equal statehood should now be superseded by a struggle for equal citizenship” within a single Palestinian and Israeli state.

Noting that such an intervention by Tarazi would never have appeared without the approval of the PLO leadership, Rubin suggests that the Road Map and similar initiatives have rested on a fundamental misconception. “The key to understanding the history of the last half-century's Arab-Israeli conflict is that the PLO was never a true nationalist movement,” he argues. “For the PLO destroying Israel is more important than building an independent Palestinian state or relieving the Palestinian people's suffering.” The demand for a "right of return" of Palestinian refugees confirms this. “If the goal was to build a strong, stable Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel, everything would be done to discourage refugees from going to Israel," Rubin suggests. “For why should a Palestinian state make a gift of these people, their money and talents to someone else?”

NEWS:

Protests at Continued Detention of Bahraini Human Rights Activist
Human rights activist Abdul-Hadi al-Khawajah pleaded not guilty on Saturday to "inciting hatred" against the Bahrain government and circulating false information about top officials. The hearing was delayed for 90 minutes by protests from dozens of supporters who invaded the courtroom. His arrest last month and the dissolution of the Al Oruba human rights center have highlighted the fragility of recent democratic reforms in the kingdom.

A government order currently prohibits the center from resuming its activities, confiscates its funds, and requires it to surrender all documents to the authorities. Nabeel Rajab, the center's President, told Human Rights Watch that electricity to the office has been cut off and staff forbidden to enter the premises. The government sought to justify the move by claiming the organization's outspokenness on "political" matters violated Law 21 (1989) governing associations.

Like most Bahrainis, Al-Khawajah and a majority of his supporters are Shiites in a country ruled by Sunni royalty. Shiite grievances, including complaints of discrimination and political disenfranchisement, prompted a growing revolt that ended in 1999 when King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ascended the throne, promising reconciliation and democratization. Many Shiite dissidents were pardoned and exiles returned home, including Al-Khawajah, who returned three years ago after 22 years in Europe.

AP quotes Abduljalil Singace, spokesman for the Shiite-backed Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, warning that "the situation will really get out of control" if al-Khawajah remains in detention. "Sentiments are sky high because people feel Abdul-Hadi is unlawfully detained," he said.

The US State Department has expressed its "serious concerns" about the arrest and closure to the government of Bahrain while noting that the regime had in recent years demonstrated a commitment to democratization and civil liberties. Bahrain's King Hamad repeated last week that freedom of expression is guaranteed under the supremacy of Bahrain's law and constitution.

Chavez Government Targets Venezuelan Civil Activists
Leading civil activists who helped organize Venezuela's presidential recall referendum have been served with arrest warrants on charges of conspiracy against the state for receiving US funds for citizens' education. If convicted of treason, Alejandro Plaz and Maria Corina Machado face 16 years in jail.

Plaz and Machado were charged after the citizens' rights group, Sumate, of which they are both directors, received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy to promote last August's referendum on the government of left-wing populist Hugo Chavez. "A citizens' organization like Sumate represents, I won't say a threat, but at least an obstacle to those who want to violate civic rights . . . and that's why we're being persecuted," Machado says.

"It is one thing to be involved in politics, and quite another to solicit support from a foreign government to intervene in internal affairs of the country," says Luisa Ortega, a state prosecutor with Venezuela's National Council. "There is conclusive proof in the contract with the accused for financial support from the NED that shows intent to conduct politics against the current government," stated Ortega.

But Machado insists the $31,000 that Sumate received from the NED was used for the entirely legal and constitutional purpose of educating voters about their electoral rights under the 1999 constitution. She remains free, at least until a hearing in early November.

Civil society groups complain that the Venezuelan authorities are seeking to paint independent civil society activity to uphold the country's constitution and democratic processes as a permanent conspiracy to undermine the government, They say the government's criminal code reform bill endangers NGO autonomy.

International financing is itself an important guarantee of the NGOs' independence, says Marino Alvarado, legal coordinator for Provea, a leading Venezuelan human rights group. Concern is growing over the content of the criminal code reform bill that was approved during its first debate in the National Assembly. Article 10 of the bill states that anyone who supplies or receives funds from abroad to conspire against the integrity of the territory of the republic or government institutions, or to destabilize social peace, may be punished with sentences of 20 to 30 years in jail.

The US State Department expressed "grave concern" yesterday about the bill. "We believe the proposal, if it becomes law, would criminalize the defense of human rights in Venezuela," spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Afghan Election Success….
Donkeys, bicycles and helipcopters were called into action this week as ballots from Afghanistan's first direct presidential election continued to make their their way to processing centers from remote areas of the country. The success of the poll surprised even the most cynical and hostile of observers. In France, even the left-of-center Le Monde declared the vote “a victory for democracy, something that was not guaranteed at the outset,” conceding that “the main outcome of these elections and what is most comforting, is that they actually took place and were conducted in a relatively calm atmosphere.”

Much-anticipated attacks on polling day failed to materialize and Afghan officials expressed the hope that the Taliban's failure to disrupt the polls will demoralise them and undermine efforts to attract new followers. “The Taliban are still there,” said Kandahar Governor Mohammed Yusuf Pashtun. “They are not destroyed, but we hope the successful election will demoralize them,” he said.

…and Now for Iraq
The EU is committing significant resources to help Iraqis prepare for their January 2005 elections. Europe will support the forthcoming Iraqi elections even if violence means that only a partial poll is possible. The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana, siding with the United States, has confirmed that the 25-nation bloc opposes any change in the Iraq election timetable. The EU is spending $36 million to help Iraqis prepare for the election, from training electoral officers to providing voter information.

“Europe's Last Dictator” Survives Flawed Poll
Police in Minsk last night dispersed 1,000 demonstrators protesting near the presidential palace against the weekend’s referendum which allowed the country’s authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko to seek a third term in office.

The last weekend's elections and referendum in Belarus "fell significantly short" of international standards, according to western observers. The Belarus electoral commission claimed preliminary results showed that 77.3% of the votes on a 90% turnout in the referendum went to approve lifting a constitutional ban on a third term for President Alexander Lukashenko, widely known as “Europe's last dictator.” "Democratic freedoms were largely disregarded by the authorities" said Tone Tingsgaard, head of the observer mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

"We should show who is the master of the house," Lukashenko had told Belarusian authorities on October 6. "We have enough power and techniques to win these elections and the referendum overwhelmingly." His comments prompted criticism from the US-based Freedom House for their suggestion that officials violate democratic standards.

But the democratic opposition in Belarus was largely “a passive observer” in the run-up to the elections, according to a report from the Slovakia-based pro-democracy Pontis Foundation. Its poor showing confirms a “crisis of the political opposition and civil society in the country," the foundation suggests. The European Union will now tighten sanctions against Belarus.

"This is the last European truly dictatorial regime," said former Czech President Vaclav Havel, speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony of Forum 2000, an annual gathering of political and civil society leaders in Prague. Havel called for “some form of solidarity and support of civil society in Belarus” and said grassroots movements are crucial for anchoring democracy in post-communist societies.

World Movement Participant Gets 4-Year Prison Sentence in Sierra Leone
The World Movement for Democracy has expressed its grave concern on the conviction of Paul Kamara, editor of the Sierra Leone paper For Di People and a supporter of the World Movement for Democracy. Kamara received a four years prison sentence on October 5th for "criminally libeling" Sierra Leone President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. His sentencing drew strong criticism from international and local media groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the Sierra Leone Associations of Journalists. For information on Paul Kamara's arrest, click here.

EU Arms Embargo on China Remains
European Union foreign ministers last week declined to lift the arms embargo against China imposed 15 years ago after the massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989. French President Jacques Chirac is pushing hard for an end to the arms ban, explicitly prioritizing commerce over human rights considerations. Chirac is supported by Germany, but Sweden and Denmark have led in opposing the change.

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller admits that China's human rights situation has improved somewhat since 1989. "But when the Chinese say that Tiananmen is over and done with... you can remind them that they still have 14 prisoners serving from Tiananmen," he said.

Politeia Promoting Democracy -- in Europe
Politeia is a partnership among European NGOs that works to strengthen civic education and the culture of democracy throughout the European Union. This network for citizenship and democracy in Europe is a virtual organization of over 1500 persons and institutions active in the field of citizenship and political education and wishing to cooperate at European level. The network's goal is to promote the social and political participation of European citizens. The organization is now conducting a survey for ideas on how to improve its newsletter. For information on Politeia, click here.

New Attempt at Bringing Female Suffrage to Kuwait
Disenfranchised Kuwaiti women merit full political rights, says Kuwait's influential Supreme Council for Development and Planning. The council plans to introduce legislation guaranteeing women's right to political participation. The decision is likely to spark parliamentary conflict with Islamists and tribal leaders who vehemently oppose the idea, and successfully killed a 1999 bill granting women the right to vote and stand for office.

Elections Will Promote Tunisia's Democracy, says Ben Ali
Invoking the modernizing rhetoric of regional reform, Tunisia's authoritarian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali launched his electoral campaign last week, promising a developed Tunisia “anchored in modernity, and mastering modern technologies, scientific innovations, and new and innovative industries."

Ben Ali said the presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for October 24, are an opportunity for Tunisia's political parties to project themselves to the electorate “within the context of democracy and pluralism which we have been keen on establishing and consolidating.” Tunisia's Constitutional Council has validated four presidential candidates. Ben Ali will be challenged by Mohamed Bouchiha of the Popular Unity Party, the Social Liberal Party's Mounir Beji, and Mohamed Ali Halouani of the Ettajdid Movement.

The Tunisian elections will be closely watched, as Ben Ali has sought to promote Tunisia as a relatively benign and reform-minded US ally.

Jordanian Parties Merge
A coalition of 11 Jordanian parties last week announced their merger into a pro-government centrist front in an attempt to strengthen democratic forces and prospects in the Hashemite kingdom. The Jordanian National Movement (JNM) will unite 11 small groups which singly have little influence. The JNM hopes the merger will enhance the appeal of loyalist and constitutional forces against the main opposition Islamic Action Front (IAF), which won 17 seats in the 110-member lower house in the country's last parliamentary elections in June 2003.

Jordan's new Political Development Ministry is seeking to promote more “rational” politics and the merger is seen as the first step to a more cohesive party system. King Abdullah last year urged politicians in the country's 32 political parties to regroup into three main parties along a left-right spectrum.

Former NED Grantee is Africa's First Woman Nobel Prize Winner
Wangari Maathai, an environmental campaigner and founder of the Green Belt Movement, won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize "for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace." Professor Maathai, now Kenya's Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, is the first African woman to win the prestigious prize since it was first awarded in 1901. She has also been awarded this year's Petra Kelly Prize by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Maathai ran against the incumbent Daniel arap Moi for the Presidency of Kenya in 1977. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) in 2002. She has been supported by the National Endowment for Democracy for her work with the Green Belt Movement, which has pioneered new approaches to female and civil society empowerment.

Growing Concern Over Ukraine Poll's Fairness
Two thirds of Ukrainians fear that the forthcoming presidential election results will be tampered with, the Paris-based Robert Schuman Foundation reports, and over half (67.5%) believe that the electoral campaign has been distorted by preferential media access and other “dirty tricks” against the opposition. Interviewed by the Razoumkov Research Centre, these Ukrainians said there was pressure from employers to vote for certain candidates, and that civil servants were unfairly assisting some candidates.

“Ukraine's democracy and geopolitical orientation are at stake” in the election, says Anders Aslund, a leading authority on post-Soviet societies. “Politically, Ukraine is becoming more repressive by the day,” says Aslund, “as the government closes down one media outlet after another on flimsy grounds ranging from licensing and tax violations to libel." Freedom House has expressed concern over last week's deportation of an election trainer by the Ukrainian authorities. Border guards at Boryspil airport in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, detained Aleksandar Maric, a Serbian national who was working on non-partisan voter education activities.

Maric was traveling to Ukraine under the auspices of the Citizen Participation in Elections in Ukraine program (CPEU), an initiative run by Freedom House, the US-based National Democratic Institute, and the International Republican Institute to promote civic participation and oversight during the 2004 presidential and 2006 parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is designed to encourage transparency and informed citizen participation in the upcoming elections. A new Freedom House report, "Under Assault: Ukraine's News Media and the 2004 Presidential Elections," is available online here.

RESOURCES

Journal of Democracy:
Democratic Deficit – an Arab or Muslim Issue?
The “quality of democracy” and challenges to democracy in the Arab and wider Muslim world feature in the October 2004 issue of the Journal of Democracy. With most of the world's sovereign states now claiming democratic credentials, there is a growing emphasis on determining “good” or “better” democracy, and on how to encourage and measure improvements.

The Journal features an important debate on democratic prospects in the Arab and wider Muslim world. Is the persistence of Arab authoritarianism due not to religion or culture, but to adverse historical and geo-strategic circumstances? Do suggestions that the Muslim world does not suffer a “democratic deficit” rest on questionable evidence and assumptions? Or is it the case that although non-Arab Muslim-majority countries are “overachievers” at electoral competitiveness, Arab countries remain inhospitable to electoral democracy?

Another featured Journal article is "Latin American Presidencies Interrupted" by Arturo Valenzuela, the full text of which is available here. Over the last two decades, Latin America has seen over a dozen presidencies come to a premature end. Valenzuela asks whether it is time to consider changing constitutional designs that promote conflict rather than consensual forms of politics.

Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships
The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program at the Washington, DC-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) welcomes fellowship applications for 2005-2006. The Fellows Program was established in 2001 to enable democracy activists, practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change. While the program is intended primarily to support activists, practitioners, and scholars from new and aspiring democracies, distinguished scholars from the United States and other established democracies are also eligible to apply. Please note that a working knowledge of English is an important prerequisite for participation in the program. The application deadline for fellowships in 2005-2006 is Monday, November 1, 2004. For more information, please click here or email: fellowships@ned.org.

New – and Free!
Human Rights Info System for NGOs
Grassroots NGOs around the world can receive additional capacity in outreach, training and support through a free new information and documentation management system. Martus is a free software and open source human rights information management system, created by California-based Benetech, providing tools to ensure that the documentation of human rights violations is safeguarded and disseminated. It is designed to strengthen reporting of violations and even in some cases to prevent additional abuses. Case studies can be found here.

Empowering Iraqi Women
The U.S. State Department has launched a $10 million project to help more Iraqi women become involved in politics: "Several academic and non-governmental organizations will execute projects designed to train potential women candidates about competing in the elections and to encourage women to exercise their right to vote. The grants will also support the establishment of women's networking and counseling centers."

Middle East Partnership Initiatives (MEPI)
The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is a US Presidential initiative founded to support economic, political, and educational reform efforts in the Middle East, and to champion opportuniity for all people of the region, especially women and youth. MEPI is seeking new and innovative proposals to promote and support positive change in economic, political, education programs and the empowerment of women in the Middle East and North Africa. Applications should include cost-sharing, partnership with local NGOs or local governments in the region, a public diplomacy outreach plan, and an alumni network component. MEPI is looking for creative ideas that can be implemented relatively quickly to produce concrete results. Applications may address one or more of the stated purposes; proposals need not cover all priorities. The next deadline is November 1, 2004. For more information and for the application, please click here.

Soros Foundation Open Society Institute (OSI):
The Middle East and North Africa Initiatives
The Open Society Institute (OSI) is a private grant-making foundation that serves as the hub of the Soros Foundation network. OSI and the network implement a range of initiatives that aim to promote open societies by shaping government policy and supporting education, media, public health, and human and women's rights, as well as social, legal, and economic reform. To diminish and prevent the negative consequences of globalization, OSI seeks to foster a global open society by increasing collaboration with other nongovernmental organizations, governments, and international institutions. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Initiative is a largely grant-making program that develops OSI's activities in the MENA region. Its grant-making program supports efforts on behalf of women's rights, human rights and freedom expression, arts and culture. For more information, please visit. All inquiries should be directed to Nejla Sammakia at: e-mail: nsammakia@osi-dc.org.

United States Institute of Peace
Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace, 2005-06 Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellowship
The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, non-partisan institution created by the US Congress to strengthen the nation's capacity to promote the peaceful resolution of international conflict.The Peace Scholar program supports doctoral dissertations that explore the sources and nature of international conflict, and strategies to prevent or end conflict and to sustain peace. Dissertations from a broad range of disciplines and interdisciplinary fields are eligible. Peace Scholars work at their universities or appropriate field research sites. Priority will be given to pro-jects that contribute knowledge relevant to the formulation of policy on international peace and conflict issues. Citizens of all countries are eligible, but Peace Scholars must be enrolled in an accredited college or university in the United States. Applicants must have completed all requirements for the degree except the dissertation by the commencement of the award (September 1, 2005). The dissertation fellowship award is $17,000 for one year and may be used to support writing or field research. Application deadline: January 10, 2005 (all materials received). For more information and an application form for either of the above, contact: Jennings Randolph Program, US Institute of Peace, 1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200, Washington DC 20036-3011 USA (202 429-3886; fax: 202 429-6063; e-mail: jrprogram@usip.org; or click here.).

OPPORTUNITIES

National Endowment for Democracy
Program Officer for Eastern Europe
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is searching for a Program Officer for Eastern Europe, to be based in Washington, DC. Duties will include working with the Director for Europe and Eurasia and the Senior Program Officer to develop and oversee a grants program primarily in the Balkans; identifying program priorities and key issues as political conditions change in the region; maintaining regional expertise by conducting research, attending meetings, and cultivating networks of contacts and experts; reviewing and assessing grant proposals; preparing and recommending proposals to the NED's Board of Directors; monitoring grant programs; and maintaining contact with organizations and individuals in the region, including regular travel to the region.

The National Endowment for Democracy is a Congressionally-funded, private, nonprofit grant-making organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through non-governmental efforts. The Endowment conducts a worldwide grants program that assists organizations abroad–including political parties, business, labor, civic education, youth, women, media, human rights, and other groups–that are working for democratic goals.

Qualified candidates should have a Masters degree in a relevant field and three to four years of experience working on democracy related programs in the Balkans. Candidates should also have travel experience and in-depth knowledge of political and social issues in the Balkans. Knowledge of a Balkan language, preferred, with some knowledge of Russian also an advantage. Strong writing skills are required.

Applicants should send a resume, sample of writing, and three references to: Eastern Europe Program Officer Search, National Endowment for Democracy, Suite 700, 1101 15th Street N.W., Washington DC 20005. Or e-mail to jobs@ned.org or go here.

Southern and East Africa Program Officer
Afghanistan Political Party Expert
The National Democratic Institute is seeking a Washington, D.C.-based program officer for its Southern and East Africa programs and a resident representative to implement the political party training component of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded program to provide assistance to political parties in Afghanistan.

Interested applicants for these and other NDI vacancies can apply here using NDI's on-line résumé tool. For a full list of other NDI vacancies go here.

EVENTS

October 26 3:30-5:30 pm, Woodrow Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.
China's "Third Revolution": A Gateway Toward Democracy?
Suzanne P. Ogden, professor, Department of Political Science, Northeastern University; Barrett L. McCormick, associate professor, Department of Political Science, Marquette University; Anne Thurston, associate professor, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University and fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center. Commentator: Louisa Coan Greve, Senior Program Officer, National Endowment for Democracy. E-mail: asia@wwic.si,edu, Tel: 202/691-4020

October 21, 2004, 4- 5:30 pm, Woodrow Wilson Center, Ronald Reagan Building, 4th flr Conf Rm, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
Perspectives on Building Democracy: 1945 and 2004.
Freimut Duve: OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media since 1998 and German Social Democrat Parliamentarian (1980-1998). From 1995-1998 he was also the chairman of the General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Through his political career and as a prolific author and editor of numerous publications, Freimut Duve has been involved in strengthening the democratic process in Germany and Europe for many years.

November 5-7, 2004, King Prajadhipok Institute
“Culture of Peace and Sustainable Democracy.”
United Nations Conference Center, Bangkok, Thailand. The conference will function as a forum to exchange knowledge and ideas on conflict-resolution, public participation, mediation, and consensus building. The 500 or so participants will include leading parliamentarians, senators, policy makers, NGO and civil society activists, academics, and representatives of international agencies that focus on conflict management. For further details click here.

DOCUMENTS

Partnership for Peace, Democracy and Development in the Broader Middle East and North Africa: The Full Text of the Civil Society Statement Adopted in Beirut for the “Forum for the Future” September 2004, New York

We would like to welcome the G8 initiative to support political, economic, and social freedom in the broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA). This initiative finally converges with civil society's continuous efforts for reform in this region. We particularly welcome the G8 intention to engage civil society of this region in their reform initiatives. International initiatives for reform are particularly important because they lend support to pro-reform forces in BMENA societies and pro-reform leaders among BMENA ruling elites.

We are here, as individuals, simple members of the BMENA civil society, women and men who believe in the rule of law, an independent judiciary to protect it, an active and freely elected parliament to enact laws, an accountable, freely elected government to carry them through, and in meaningful human rights, including foremost the freedom of expression.

We do not claim to represent our societies: only a free vote will. And while most of our countries have parliaments and, occasionally, courageous and outspoken members within them, their efforts are curtailed by executive power, as indeed is the power of our judges which is constantly undermined by executive interference. What we can confidently claim to represent is a pressing voice in our societies that calls for a profound, non-violent change at all levels. We do recognize that diversity of reform instruments goes hand in hand with the diversity of circumstances in the various countries of the BMENA region.

The Basis for our Claims

We take pride in a profound and varied tradition that includes some of the most remarkable human achievements in law, theology, literature, arts and science. While this tradition continues, it suffocates under the joint pressures of authoritarian governments and extremists within our societies who remain unpunished for grave abuses of our freedoms. Our societies also suffer from international real-politik, which sacrifices principles in support of a status quo and the entrenched interests which this status quo protects. Civil society in the BMENA region is, therefore, under many layers of siege: domestic and international.

We did not wait for this occasion to defend democracy and call for the respect of human rights. The three religions which emerged from our lands and the cultural and religious diversity, of which we are proud, have claimed justice and freedom as their call and our societies, like all societies on the planet, have time and again resisted 'the patterns of authoritarianism'. Yet this tradition has been often tarnished. Abdalrahman al-Kawakibi, the author of the famous pamphlet “The Patterns of Despotism” in the 19th century was poisoned for his frankness and courage, and for identifying despotism as a crime against society. Religion has been sometimes used to justify human rights violations and undemocratic forms of Government. The Arab Human Development Reports, the Sanaa and Alexandria Declarations, the Beirut First Arab Civil Forum organized parallel to the Arab Summit and numerous civil society initiatives and declarations are an extension of civil society efforts for reform. All these reform initiatives have a shared interest in countering all forms of fundamentalism, the causes of violence, discrimination and hatred in a free and open public sphere for debate and creativity.

I. The Democratic Imperative: Increasing the Value of Individual Life

Governments of the BMENA have failed to achieve development and to absorb pressures from their local public opinion for reform. Warning against the threats of chaos that might result from reforming the region ignores the fact that anarchy has already mushroomed in some of the states of the region. The threat of total collapse would be the result of delaying the onset of reform. Extremism is coterminous with marginalization or suppression of the other intellectual and political currents and their symbols. This is maintained under hegemony of extremist religious discourse, which is often allowed to have public space while denying such space to pro-reform forces. We are convinced that this is contrary to the interests of the peoples and the objectives of Islam. Such deterioration per se necessitates urgent response to the calls for reform.

An Arab Reform Agenda needs to raise the value of life of all Arab citizens. This requires a relentless push for pro-poor economic development, a serious program to improve the quality of education, both secular and religious, and most importantly an unconditional respect for human rights of all citizens of the region and for civic liberties without emergency laws, exceptional and military courts. As a handful of us seek your attention and action, many more free men and women have suffered for their courage by being silenced, more often than not by violent means. We request their release and their right to rehabilitation and integration in a non-violent, meaningful political process.

II Commitment and programmes

On the basis of countless civil society meetings across our region, we propose a common commitment to the principles of democracy and pro-poor economic development. The reform process should begin by taking measures to provide an enabling environment for these principles to become a reality.

Within the framework of set goals and clear milestones for reform within a foreseeable time plan, each state will have to choose the policy instruments which suit its conditions based on a real partnership between state and society. Only then will commitment be genuine and reform sustainable.

To enact this commitment, we propose a list of problem areas in which we all recognise profound deficits in need of correction.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties

A program for citizenship equality, especially gender equality, and the inclusion of the cultural and religious diversity of the region in the national process, while respecting this diversity.
A program that protects and enlarges freedom of expression, especially the freedom of the press, TV and Radio. Laws regulating funding, libel, etc. should be revised according to international practice.
A program for freedom of organization without unnecessary intervention from the Executive based on the pretence of security. Laws should meanwhile be devised to encourage transparency, accountability and fair play among all organizations, political and civil.
A program to promote and secure state neutrality in issues that impact upon the freedom of expression in the public space.
Ending administrative and preventive detentions and releasing prisoners of conscience and those detained without charges or trials, with special programs of rehabilitation and inclusion for those who suffered in detention.

Rule of Law

A program identifying legislation that is too weak in combating violations of human rights in the BMENA region. Such a program should take a close look at the resort to emergency and exceptional laws, special and military courts, undue police detentions and regular reliance on torture, in order to put an end to such violations of the rule of law.
A program for combating corruption, ensuring the accountability of bureaucracies and the transparency of financial institutions.
A program for enhancing judicial independence and competence.
Constitutional reforms that limit the terms of office.

Socio-economic Development

A program to secure jobs for the 5 million Arab new entrants into the job market annually. This program should aim to promote investment in services and value-added products, promote small and micro enterprises, increase competitiveness and product quality, innovation, environmental sustainability and social services with creative partnerships between the state and the private sector.
Enhancing the ability of BMENA parliaments and civil society organizations to make governments accountable to measurable objectives to achieve the aforementioned goals.
A thorough revision of education generally, and of religious education where intolerance is actively advocated in its name, where basic and high quality skills are trained and critical inquisitive thinking is promoted.

Each one of these is a long, complex program, and in many cases, civil society has already started it. From Sanaa to Alexandria, Beirut and now New York, these issues have been largely identified and the emerging consensus has rallied the reluctant acknowledgment of Arab governments in the last Arab Summit meeting.

III. The Mechanisms of Partnership for Reform

We need commitment, which we request from all, to start at once, in an open and convincing manner. We shall be partners of our governments and partners of the international community in these programmes. Implementation of these programmes must however be carried out by vectors of civil society, persons and institutions, and NOT by international institutions or governments alone.

The Imperative of Partnership
It is necessary for any reform initiative to be based on a real partnership with civil society organizations, political parties and pro reform forces in each state. This partnership should lead to the establishment of institutions accountable before the peoples of the Arab world and the international community. Civil society organizations must have a central role in drawing up the priorities of reform, in their implementation and in the process of monitoring the reforms and identifying benchmarks for reform evaluation. Knowing that some rulers and some ruled may sometimes prefer the status quo to the unknown (which comes with reform), knowing that the G-8 members can only deal with governmental partners, what civil society can provide in such partnership is the power to pressure reluctant governments (and reluctant fellow citizens), by keeping a watchful eye on processes of and progress towards reform.

Civil Society with Observer Status & Electronic Platforms
One constructive way to do that is to give one or more Civil Society Fora an observing member status with the right to comment on drafts and initiatives early enough for these comments to be seriously considered. These representatives of civil society should be assisted in establishing electronic platforms by which they can be in constant dialogue (via active links and the like) with other civil society organizations. The experience of the UN in establishing such electronic dialogues and platforms in preparation for UN conventions should be tapped and transferred. Besides, Civil and Human Rights Regional Organizations, Lawyers Associations, and Journalists Associations should be included. An interdisciplinary think tank and knowledge bank can be easily provided by institutions in the region which have the competence and capacity to benchmark progress and monitor trends towards reform. Their work over the years has included the collection of data, the management of information and the creation of knowledge regarding all aspects of good governance. They could work together with other similar think tanks outside the region to establish a knowledge bank for reform.

Societal Observatories of Reform
For this to work, societal observatories need to be created with a system of accountability. Such observatories would help create structured action plans with clear and realistic benchmarks. Successful examples of reform and country specific alternative solutions collected and analysed by such observatories could widely circulate these examples via regional, south-south networks and international networks which link BMENA civil society to counterparts all over the world.

IV. Regional Security and Reform

This could be an appropriate place to stop. To go home with this committment and a structure to follow it up constitutes an achievement worthy enough of everyone's time.

But we do not feel this would be sufficient. For while BMENA societies confront problems which are universal, they are still plagued by a unique intensity of violence in which the first victims are our relatives and friends. In recent years, such violence has spilled over to the planet, and this explains the present, unusual, meeting. This is because violence in our region carries complications of its own, which need to be addressed alongside the medium to long-term programs identified above.

The issue, in brief, is one of human rights and political accountability, mostly at the top of decision-making in each state. It is eminently political, and concerns the regular, non-violent, institutionalised change of the executive leaders in our countries. This is further complicated by regional problems, mostly the one occasioned by [what some participants saw as --ed. note] the emergence of Israel on the ruins of Palestine.

We shall not simply demand a peaceful, fair and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian Israeli conflict nor simply demand peace, democracy, and territorial integrity in Iraq or a peaceful and fair solution to the Kashmir conflict and the establishment of democracy in Afghanistan. Governments in the region have often used these regional security issues to delay political, economic and social reform, as if solving these issues can only come at the cost of suppression and oppression. Instead, BMENA civil society has over and over again asserted that internal reform is urgent with no buts or ifs related to regional security and peace. Yet it is imperative to note that a solution to regional security issues, including the end to all mass destruction weapons programs in the region, can only enhance reform, pulling the rug from underneath the feet of governments and radical movements alike. Sincere efforts to solve regional security issues can only enhance the credibility of international initiatives for reform in the eyes of civil society and the public at large.

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